Rug holder



Aug. 13, 1963 A. B. MCINTYRE RUG HOLDER- Filed Dec. 22, 1960 fia United States Patent O M 3,100,522 RUG HOLDER Alva B. McIntyre, 13.0. Box 735, Evanston, Ill.

Filed Dec. 22, 1960, Ser. No. 77,600 2 Claims. (Cl. Idil-90) This invention relates to a rug holder and particularly to an assembly for holding a rug iirmly in place in a decorative and protective setting and to novel elements of that assembly.

Frequently small rugs are placed on bare floors or on larger expanses of carpeting to decorate or protect a small area. Small rugs of this type are hazardous, both because they tend to slip when on a bare iloorand because their ends curl up creating an irregularity over which persons may trip. When one trug is laid upon another, in addition to the hazard created, the pile of the lower rug tends to penetrate and disintegrate the backing of the upper rug, thereby severely diminishing its useful life.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rug holder that holds a rug iirmly in place and provides a decorative margin that keeps the edge of the rug from raveling or curling up.

It is another object of this invention to provide a rug holder that protects both the pile of a large carpet upon which a small carpet is laid and the backing of a small rug which is placed on a larger one.

Briey, this invention provides a combination of a margin member, a. rug, and a rug supporting member. The margin member is a continuous strip of material, such as aluminum, plastic, rubber, etc., which is relatively :rigid and capable of being yformed at the corners by mitering, coping or equivalent finishing methods. 'Ihe `margin member has a low silhouette and a cross-section that provides lindependent recesses for receiving a rug supporting member and for receiving the margin of a rug.

This invention also relates to the margin member per se which is formed in such shape as to perform its specific function and adapted to provide a safe and decorative door covering.

A presently preferred embodiment of the rug holder of the present invention i-s illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which show in:

FIG. l, a partially cut-away plan view of a rug and rug holder assembly embodying this invention;

FIG. 2, a sectional elevational partial view of the assembly of FIG. 1 taken along-the lines 2-2; and

FIG. 3, a cross-section of one embodiment of a margin member embodying this invention.

The floor covering assembly of this invention is comprised of three elements, a rug 11, a margin element 12 and a rug supporting element 13. As may be seen best in FIG. l, the margin element is in contact with the door or area to be covered and it also extends above both the rug 11 and the rug support 13 and in so doing, it embraces the margin of the rug 11 and rug support 13. rI'hus the margin element 12 provides a low silhouette, but rigid terminal edge f-or the entire door covering and one that prevents the edges of the rug from becoming frayed, or curling and creating a hazard.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the details of the assembly shown fin FIG. 1 are more apparent. The margin element is constructed with an arcuate element 15 which terminates at the oor at 16 and extends to a cantilever portion at 17. Medial between the terminal portions of the arcuate element is a rug restraining portion 18 which is an abutment integral with the arcuate element and immediately below it when the margin member is in normal position. The rug restraining element 13 isheld spaced from a floor engaging element 20 by a column element 21. The bottom surface22 of the rug restraining element and the upper 3,100,522 Patented Aug. 13, 1963 ICC surface 23 of the oor engaging element form a horizontal slot that opens in the direction that the arcuate member rises, or towards the cantilever portion A17. The dimensions of this slot are such that the rug supporting element 13, which is a large flat rigid element, such as hardboard or plywood, lits with its edge snugly in the slot. Thus disposed, the upper surface 25 of the rug supporting element 13 and the lower surface 26 of the cantilever portion 17 form another slot-like recess into which the periphery of the rug 11 may be forced thereby to restrain it. As may be seen in FIG. 2, the rug supporting element 13 bows .in the middle land for most of its area it is in contact with and supported on the oor. Immediately adjacent the ylicor engaging element 20, however, there is a void space between the underside of the rug supporting element and the floor and this void space causes the sharp edge 27 `of the floor engaging element 2t? to slightly interlock with the floor beneath it, particularly if the assembly is employed to cover a small area of a `large carpe-t. 'Ihe discontinuity of the bottom of the assembly thereby tends to Ilock the assembly in place to pre'vent dangerous slipping, as well as annoying gradual migration of the rug.

The floor engaging element 20 is provided with means for Iholding the edge of the trug supporting element rmly. The simplest `of these means is a series of holes 28 that fare suitably countersunk as at 3l) to receive dat headed screws. The screws 31 may thus Ibe driven upwardly into the edge of the lrug supporting element \13, but in normal position they are invisible and the margin element 12 presents a smooth, unbroken surface. If the margin element is constructed of rubber or plastic, or other slightly elastic material, bosses on either surface 22 or surface 23, or both, may be employed so that lthe slot formed between these surfaces may enlarge slightly when `tne nug supporting element 13 is forced into it, but these protruding members will securely engage the rug supporting element when the `assembly is complete and in operative position.

It is also contemplated that a non-slip material, such 'as resilient rubber or plastic, may be disposed as at 32 on the underside of the floor engaging element 2i) and, if desirable, at 33, ywhere the arcuate portion intersects the floor, which is in' the same plane as the under surface of the oor engaging element 20'.

From the foregoing description, it is evident that the floor `covering of this invention provides a decorative means of covering a floor area. In addition, this invention provides for the elimination of the hazards caused by curling rug edges and by slipping rugs and it preserves the edges of a rug from fraying due to normal wear. In this respect, this invention also provides a means for employing small pieces of carpeting as iloor covering without requiring nishing the edges before use, thereby greatly diminishing the cost of such small floor coverings. In addition to the above advantages, the present invention prevents deterioration of small carpets which are laid on larger ones due to the penetration of the pile of the lower carpet into the backing of the upper one, thus, prolonging the useful life of both carpets.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 1s:

l. A unitary floor covering comprising a continuous closedmargin of rigid material, a flat, rigid rug supporting element, a rug on top of said rug supporting element and in contact with it, 'a first recess in said margin having the edge of said rug supporting element embraced within it, a second recess of smaller perimeter having the edge of said rug embraced within it, said second recess being defined by the upper surface of said rug supporting element and an upper element of said closed margin, and fastening means passing through the lowest element of said margin upwardly through said fir-st recess to engage said rug supporting element whereby a'un'itary movable floor covering with invisible fastening means is formed.

2. A unitary floor covering comprising a continuous closed margin of rigid material, said margin consisting of extruded metal comprising in cross-section `a dat, lower oor engaging element, a medial column integral with said iloor engaging element, an arcuate element integral with said column and extending beyond said column on both sides from a lower point in the sanne plane as the bottom of the'oorengaging element to a cantilever portion, and a laterally expanded portion integral with said 'column and with said arcuate element, extending downwardly from said arcuate element and terminating short of said tloor engaging element, thereby to define a irst recess, a tlat, rigid rug supporting element, a rug on top of said rug supporting element and in contact with it, said rst recess in lsaid. margin having the edge of said 4. rug supporting element embraced within it, a second recess of smaller perimeter having the edge of said rug embraced `within it, said second recess being dened by the .upper surface lof said rug supporting element, and said arcuate element and said expanded portion of said closed margin, and fastening means passing through the floor engaging element of said margin upwardly through said irst recess to engagek said rug supporting element whereby a unitary movable floor covering with invisible fastening means is formed.

References Cited in the ile of this'patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,634,921 Straus .Tuly 5, 1927 2,770,002 Thompson Nov. 13, 1956 2,779,070 Keller Jan. 29, 31957 2,875,467 De Vault Mar. 3, 1959 2,976,584 Ghormley Mar. 28, 1961 

1. A UNITARY FLOOR COVERING COMPRISING A CONTINUOUS CLOSED MARGIN OF RIGID MATERIAL, A FLAT, RIGID RUG SUPPORTING ELEMENT, A RUG ON TOP OF SAID RUG SUPPORTING ELEMENT AND IN CONTACT WITH IT, A FIRST RECESS IN SAID MARGIN HAVING THE EDGE OF SAID RUG SUPPORTING ELEMENT EMBRACED WITHIN IT, A SECOND RECESS OF SMALLER PERIMETER HAVING THE EDGE OF SAID RUG EMBRACED WITHIN IT, SAID SECOND RECESS BEING DEFINED BY THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID RUG SUPPORTING ELEMENT AND AN UPPER ELEMENT OF SAID CLOSED MARGIN, AND FASTENING MEANS PASSING THROUGH THE LOWEST ELEMENT OF SAID MARGIN UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID FIRST RECESS TO ENGAGE SAID RUG SUPPORTING ELEMENT WHEREBY A UNITARY MOVABLE FLOOR COVERING WITH INVISIBLE FASTENING MEANS IS FORMED. 